There are white beaches with sand as fine as caster sugar, pale blue seas, amazing corals and fish, lagoons, mountains, rivers, rice terraces and bright, bright stars. The Philippines has almost everything a holidaymaker could desire, yet it is barely on the tourist map and is seldom visited by the British. Even though it is probably the most westernised eastern nation, where English is spoken readily, this diverse archipelago has yet to find its feet in terms of tourism.

It is the place many say was the real inspiration for Alex Garland's The Beach (the author lived and travelled there) and there are lots of wondrous beaches that fit his idyllic descriptions. For those who now find Thailand too overrun with the disciples of Garland, DiCaprio or the Lonely Planet guides, then the Philippines could be the place.

The thousands of islands that make up the country are split into three groups: the Visayas, Luzon and Mindanao. The latter is out of bounds for all but the most irresponsible of travellers because of the current propensity for Muslim guerrillas to pick tourists off the beach.

We chose to stay in the Visayas, an easily negotiable region for the two weeks that we had, and headed for Malapascua Island. I had read in one of those best-beaches-of-the-world-type surveys, that: "If there were a holy grail of beaches, it would probably be found in the Philippines. In a country that is made up of 7,107 islands, good beaches are not hard to come by. Malapascua Island is one of the finest examples - a mere speck in the ocean maybe but its Bounty Beach, replete with blindingly white sand and looming palms, is truly sensuous."

Malapascua Island lies 8km north-east of Cebu, which is the most tourist-oriented and most visited of the Visayas islands. It takes three and a half hours by bus on a good day (it will most likely take longer) plus a further 45 minutes on a fast outrigger boat. Sitting on the wooden seats of the outrigger, it became clear that we could wait for three hours or more for the boat to fill up - it doesn't leave until a full complement of passengers gets on board, whatever time it is. You can, however, pay extra and have yourself transported to the island for the fare of around 15 passengers, which is about a fiver.

You can walk around the whole of Malapascua in less than two hours. There's a strip of bright, white sand named Bounty Beach, which is lined with basic cottages and hammocks dotted between the palms. There are a few restaurants, a floating bar, a couple of dive shops and a few dozen fishing boats.

In one of the tiny, empty bays, we stumbled across Paul Foley, an Oxford graduate who gave up the pressures of the advertising business to bum around a bit, earning money as a divemaster and instructor. The diving on Malapascua is simple: under the ledges of Gato Island, you can slide down and watch white-tipped reef sharks as they sleep while blue-spotted rays nestle nearby.

The trip back from Malapascua gave an idea of just how haphazard travelling within the Philippines can be. We had been diving and had planned for the boat to drop us off at Da'anbantyan on the Cebu mainland. The five o'clock bus was supposed to leave from there. But when we stepped up from the boat, the man with the densely-tattooed legs laughed and said there was no bus. He then rode off in a motorised tricycle to fetch a Jeepney (the most common form of travel in the Philippines, it is a sort of open-ended bus made out of an old US army Jeep, often brightly decorated, plastered with stickers and all kinds of add-ons like horns, lights, tinsel, holy statues) which would take us to Bogo.

The Jeepney driver chuckled at the idea of two women travelling without husbands. With our wedding fingers free of gold bands and clearly past what the Filipinos regard as marrying age, we were gaped at in awe by almost everyone and asked why we weren't married.

As we sat upfront and boasted about our recent encounter with sharks, Janus, the jeepney driver, smiled and said: "I am glad they didn't eated you." Then the Jeepney - running on a dodgy battery - clapped out in the middle of the road. Janus knew he could lose half the fare, but it seemed it would take more than time to fix. There was nothing else for it, so we hailed a motorised tricycle and hared off to catch the Bogo bus. Two hours and about 20p later, we arrived.

From Cebu, we travelled to Boracay, a blissful island that became a favourite with Elizabeth Taylor. For the itinerant traveller/backpacker who would be happier camping on a desert island, it is not the best place. But it is pretty good for the holiday-maker who wants wonderful beaches, sailing, horses to ride, laid-back bars and a cheesy disco.

Getting to Boracay involves a flight to Kalibo and then a bus to the ferry, from which you eventually have to wade ashore through warm, pale-blue water. Men eagerly await your arrival and will hoist your bag up on their shoulder and carry it ashore so it doesn't get wet. They can hoist you on their shoulders, too, for a few pesos more.

Boracay is a lazy place, and its downside is that it is on the cusp of over-development. But walk away from the main tourist areas on White Beach, up to the very end and you will find empty spaces. Take the Red Pirates catamaran round the island for a secluded barbecue or go horseriding to private nooks and crannies and the idea of over-development soon fades away.

Our next destination was Palawan, but to get there we had to overnight in Manila. Since we had so little time in the country, the hassle of Manila was the last thing we wanted. Instead, we quickly flew round a shopping mall picking up shoes that Imelda Marcos would have no doubt killed us for.

The Philippines may have a fascinating history - claimed for Spain and named after King Phillip II by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521; dominated by America from 1898; occupied by the Japanese during the second world war. And they have an interesting make-up - Malay in origin with traces of Chinese, American, Spanish and Arab blood; mostly Catholic but with many Muslims and Buddhists. Yet the thing people know most about the country is Imelda Marcos and her shoes.

Palawan is the country's largest province, with more than 1,000 islands and islets of its own. Known as the last frontier because its nearest neighbour is North Borneo, it is famous for its dramatic cliffs, where men climb to precarious heights to pluck - for a hefty price of around $3,000 per kilo - the famous edible swiftlet's nests used in bird's nest soup.

Our first stop in Palawan was the Dos Palmas resort on Arreceffi island, a nature resort with sporting facilities. Marketed as a centre of ecotourism, it had the rather disconcerting feature of caged white-tip sharks swimming around under the stilt-built reception area.

But it was from the window of a 19-seater plane that we caught the real glory of Palawan as we skirted over tiny islands that looked like giant, white-edged crocodiles swimming in an azure sea. We were heading towards El Nido, in Bacuit Bay, which is dominated by karst limestone formations that thrust upwards from the sea. Secret Beach, on Matinloc Island, can only be reached by snorkelling through a small crack in the limestone walls.

We stayed in an exquisitely furnished water cottage on Lagen Island, our patio doors opening out on to a small lagoon and a view of the limestone cliffs beyond, and we spent the days diving, kayaking, climbing, sunbathing and looking at the stars. Over a bottle of locally-brewed San Miguel, we shook our heads. "This is perfect," said my friend, Karen. "I hope too many people don't discover the Philippines too soon."

The practicals

Singapore Airlines (0870 6088886, www.singapore air.com) has one flight a day London-Manila from £530 return. The best time to go is between November and May, though we travelled in June and were lucky with the weather.

Malapascua: Buses leave at regular intervals from locations in Cebu City. Regular buses cost 45PhP (60p) while air-conditioned buses cost 70PhP. Pump boats leave from Maya to Malapascua and cost 15PhP per passenger. Special trips can be arranged for around 300PhP. Accommodation is basic but sweet and mostly right on the beach. Cocobana Resort, Bounty Beach Cottages start at 750PhP; Blue Water Beach Resort, 700PhP; Malapascua Island Beach resort cottages start at PhP 500. All based on twin-sharing.

Boracay: Friday's Resort (www.fridaysboracay.com) has beautiful native-style rooms, with hammocks outside the door. Deluxe rooms, US $145, premier rooms, $170 in high season. Pink Patio Resort is for those who like a more "banging" type of holiday, with music pumping out by the poolside. Almost everything is pink. Three-day/two-night packages with breakfast, transfers, and a dinner costs $80.

The Foreign Office advises that most visits to the Philippines are trouble-free but visitors should be aware that, following the recent kidnappings, including foreign tourists from the neighbouring Malaysian islands of Sipadan and Pandanan, there is an increased threat of kidnap in popular Philippine beach resorts. They advise against all travel to Mindanao. For the latest situation, visit www.fco.gov.uk/travel/countryadvice.asp